Monday 18th January
Yep, today we returned to our favoured home, the wonderfully named Delicate Nobby Camping Ground. Only after picking up four burgers from our favourite butcher in Crescent Head. We even managed to pitch tent in pretty much the same spot as last time, shaded by the trees. After spending last night alone in the state forest, we were pleased to be back where there were people on holiday.
What a great afternoon we had: Chris had a second attempt at fishing but concluded that the sea was too rough for fishing from the rocks. I went body boarding finally! Yey! Such fun, I loved it. I was surrounded by people from the Summer Surf Camp trying to catch their first waves which was nice.
The pump wasn’t working today so all toilet uses had to be flushed away using a bucket of water. The showers weren’t on either. However, the ranger had put up a sign telling guests that due to this the fees had been halved. Not that he comes to collect the money everyday anyway - this is the guy who comes around every three days asking, “Just the one night, then?” making it nice and cheap for everyone. Nevertheless, half price fees sounded good to us, we had our portable shower anyway!
We ended up spending a pleasant evening sharing a campfire with a semi-local, middle-aged guy who had been on a surfing trip with friends and decided to stay an extra night. He told us bitterly about how New South Wales is one of the most heavily taxed states in Australia - it’s apparently 45% for high earners which for him is $55,000 in tax (Hmmm, you want to compare it with Britain, mate!). Unlike the Brits, Aussies don’t seem to mind telling you how much they’ve paid for things and how much they earn after just meeting you. He wasn’t the first to have imparted such information. It's not bragging or anything, it's just acceptable here.
He also told us all about his plans to fit solar panels around his home in order to produce his own electricity. Apparently the government are encouraging people to install these by offering interest-free loans of around A$7000 to put towards the cost in addition to buying any excess energy from you. This man already had water tanks installed so seemed to be moving more and more towards self-sustenance. It seems that anyone living rurally in Australia (and that’s a lot of people) has their own water tanks which they use to collect rain water. Rain usually provides enough water to last for the whole year. We found all of this really interesting.
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